Charles Barkley Challenges President Obama to One-on-One

• Former N.B.A. star Charles Barkley appeared on Conan last night and, in response to President Obama’s recent injury, said that despite being fat, he would “kick his [President Obama’s] ass” in basketball. Shots fired! [Huff Post]

• Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, Obama is trying to make nice with Senate Republicans after two years of halfway ignoring them. [The Hill]

• All bets are off! New York City’s Off-Track Betting Corp. is set to shutter its doors Friday. [New York Post]

• After the most recent WikiLeaks dump of diplomatic cables, U.S. diplomats are hoping to “soothe” their relationship with Pakistan. [Washington Post]